His attendance highlights Japan’s increasing recognition of the severity of global threats.

“We are currently facing the most severe and complex security environment since the end of the Second World War”, Japan’s Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru announced at DSEI Japan 2025.

“Today’s Ukraine could be East Asia tomorrow”, he acknowledged.

The prime minister continued by highlighting how the security environment, which is getting “more and more severe”, is becoming increasingly interconnected globally, especially between Europe and Asia.

To counter this growing threat, the prime minister stressed the importance of international partnerships. “It is now difficult for any single country to defend alone…including, perhaps, the US”.  

Ensuring “strong ties” and cooperation on equipment with allies and like-minded nations, including to “promote the transfer of equipment, joint development, and joint production”, is key to peace and stability, he continued. 

As part of this, Japan is actively promoting equipment cooperation with various countries, including the US, pointing to his recent visit with US President Donald Trump.

The prime minister concluded his speech by pointing to the importance of the small and medium-sized enterprise (SMEs) community in ensuring security.

“Without SMEs, tanks will not move, and the fighters cannot fly”.

The prime minister’s comments were translated from Japanese to English.

Olivia Savage, Editor in Chief of Clarion Defence & Security